


Black Hole

by VampireNaomi



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Fade to Black, Getting Together, Heist, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-23 05:48:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20003314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireNaomi/pseuds/VampireNaomi
Summary: Everyone who gets too close to Lupin becomes his.





	1. Chapter 1

Albert hadn’t meant to fall for Lupin. In fact, after the very first five minutes in his company, he’d decided that even if he was the last man alive, he wouldn’t be interested in that arrogant, big-mouthed upstart who’d walked into his life and begun throwing things into disarray just by existing.

Lupin was insufferable. It was like he had some pathological need to be at the center of attention at all times. If the spotlight wasn’t directed at him, he turned it by force. He never shut his mouth and didn’t seem to have much of a filter. The couple of times they had had to bunk at the same place had taught Albert more about women and their anatomy than he’d ever need. Lupin rubbed every successful job to his face.

The worst part was that Lupin wasn’t just empty talk. He’d started out with more enthusiasm than skill, but he learned quickly. Every time Albert outsmarted him and made him fall flat on his face, he knew the same trick would never work again. It was no longer a given that he’d win, and more than once, Lupin had mopped the floor with him by putting a frighteningly clever twist on some ploy he’d used on him earlier. As if to blow a raspberry at him and show him that anything Albert did, he could and would do better.

Whenever they had to team up because some job was too big for one or something went wrong and they were forced to escape together, every other word they exchanged was an insult. There was just something about Lupin’s monkey face and attitude - the way he could ditch a perfectly crafted plan and improvise and risk so much and have _fun_ at it - that got Albert hot under the collar. He longed for the days when he’d been able to work in peace and set his own pace.

But things didn’t go like Albert wanted anymore. If they did, perhaps he wouldn’t now find himself in a place where the only way out was to burn every bridge and not look back.

Seven months ago, he’d gotten his first glimpse into the abyss.

***

They’d been surprised by guards in the middle of breaking into a safe in a luxury apartment because their fight over who had first dibs had escalated. Somehow, they’d managed to flee through an emergency entrance to the roof, Albert repeating profanities under his breath the whole time because his escape plan had been through the ground floor, and what was he supposed to do now? The mob boss they were robbing wouldn’t be happy to just capture them. The best they could hope for was a quick death, but the gruesome stories Albert had heard about their target made him regret the whole heist.

”We’re dead,” he croaked and shook Lupin back and forth by the front of his jacket after they reached the roof and saw it was a dead end. Of course it was. It had been foolish to hope for anything else.

“Not yet,” Lupin said, as if that was supposed to make him feel better. 

Albert could feel the wind in his hair and refused to look down the edge of the roof at the wet concrete far, far below.

“I don’t want to die with you! You of all people!”

”You always panic at a time like this. Relax,” Lupin said and pushed away Albert’s hands. A smile curved his lips and brightened his face. It was normally something that got Albert to roll his eyes and spit an insult at him. This time, it cut off his biting remark. For the brief moment that Lupin looked at him with such confidence, Albert was sure they’d be fine.

Without warning, Lupin wrapped his arms around Albert and jumped off the roof with him, just as the first angry shouts and gunshots reached their ears. At first, Albert thought he’d snapped, that he was going to kill them both because the situation was hopeless.

We could have at least tried to beg first, he thought, but he couldn’t find his earlier rage and panic. Somehow, Lupin’s smile made the whole thing okay.

”Hold on, there’s gonna be a jerk!” Lupin warned him. The intensity of his voice, coupled with the wind whistling in his ears made shivers run down Albert’s spine. That asshole was having the time of his life, and it was contagious.

Right then, a makeshift parachute sprouted from the back of Lupin’s jacket. It didn’t help them float, but it slowed down their fall enough that they didn’t break all their bones upon impact, only got some bruises and scratches. Albert hung onto Lupin the whole time and screamed until his throat was sore, now more afraid than when he’d been sure they were going to die together. The magic was gone and death was scary again.

He needed a moment to steady his heart after they’d landed, but Lupin was on his feet right away. He shed the parachute like a cape and told Albert that if he wanted a ride home, he’d better lift his ass off the ground and get to the car because he wasn’t going to carry him.

Albert didn’t know how he managed it with his legs that felt like jelly, but he did. He sank into the passenger seat and yelled at Lupin the whole car ride, demanding answers why he hadn’t told him he had something crazy like that planned. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it was all thanks to Lupin that he was even alive, but the need to channel the shock, fear and relief of the past ten minutes somewhere overrode all logic.

”You’d have called it a stupid idea,” was Lupin’s defence.

”Of course I would have! How could you even be sure it’d carry our weight?”

”I couldn’t since I tested it with only myself. I wasn’t planning on running into you tonight. But don’t worry. I was totally gonna drop you if you had been too heavy.”

“I hate you. I never want to work with you again.”

Albert sulked the rest of the way. But the next morning, sitting on the only functional chair in the dinky little hideout and listening to Lupin snore in his sleeping bag on the floor, he felt something akin to gratitude. Lupin hadn’t needed to save his ass, too. He could have left him behind and argued that anyone who died because of a minor setback didn’t deserve the title of Lupin III. Everything could have been his.

He was pretty sure that had their roles been reversed, he would have left Lupin to fend for himself and keep the guards busy. He wasn’t a sentimental fool. He was in this to win, and the game had no rules.

Albert grabbed his bag and walked out, leaving behind only a pack of cigarettes as thanks.

***

When he ran into Lupin again, he acted like he’d forgotten all about the earlier incident. A well-placed jab at his ugly shoes that didn’t match his jacket, borrowing his lighter without asking and putting it back in the wrong pocket, bragging about the loot he’d grabbed in Berlin the other day - all that was normal, and Lupin rolled with his punches and provided enough of his own. He didn’t bring up their last job either, not even to snidely ask if Albert needed someone to save his life again.

Albert didn’t know if he should have felt relieved or disappointed. Because even if they weren’t talking about it, he was thinking about it. A lot.

Especially right now.

There was such joy on Lupin’s face when they got into a car chase on a dangerous mountain road where even the slightest mistake would have meant plummeting into a ravine. Albert had thought of it as insanity before, but now he realized that Lupin had complete confidence in his skills and that he believed he could improvise his way out of any ditch.

Of course it wasn’t true, but when someone was so sure of himself that even death didn’t frighten him, it was hard not to buy into the lie. After a sharp turn that made their tires screech and his dinner feel like it was going to come back up, Albert couldn’t hold back an obscene laugh. He’d known it’d get like this with Lupin. He was the one who was insane for teaming up with him anyway.

“I’ve never heard you laugh on a job before. Having fun?” Lupin asked.

“No! You’re going to kill us! Slow down!” 

There was a crash behind them. When Albert turned to look, he saw that one of the cars chasing them had met an unfortunate end and gone right through the metal fence by the side of the road, disappearing into the darkness below. It must have shocked the people in the other one enough to stop because their headlights kept getting smaller and smaller until another turn on the road made him unable to see them.

“They’re gone,” he said to Lupin and slid down on his seat. 

Thankfully, Lupin let their speed fall until it was safe. They ditched the car and hid it in a shed by the road, knowing that the men they’d left behind would call for back-up. The road ahead would be full of enemies. It was better to hike to the other side of the mountain. If nothing went wrong, they’d be across the border by dawn.

“We should split up,” Albert said. “They know where we’re headed. If they only get one of us, the other might still make it. We got both gemstones, so we can take one each.”

“That’s a bleak end to an adventure. I don’t like it. It’s all or nothing for me,” Lupin said. Albert wondered if he was worried that if they went their separate ways, Albert would alert their pursuers to his location and use his capture as a distraction to get away. He might have done just that, considering that the idea had immediately popped into his head. 

He could still do it if they were spotted while together.

“Fine, I guess if we get attacked by a bear, I’ll run and let it eat you,” he said.

“Dream on! I’m faster than you!”

“Funny, didn’t look like that the time we were in the Amazon.”

“I just let you go ahead so that you’d be the one to fall into any traps.”

Albert clicked his tongue in annoyance and took the lead, just to make a point. He asked Lupin for one of the gemstones in case they got separated after all.

It was hard to move in the dark, and more than once, he stumbled over his feet or scraped his face on the bushes and low-hanging branches of the trees. His shades came in handy as they protected his eyes. It made him feel a little better about being the one to carve the path for Lupin.

They didn’t speak, aside from the occasional curse when they slipped or something hit them in the face. When the first rays of sunlight became visible on their left, Albert felt a great sense of relief. He was tired and sweating in his long coat. Sunlight would make it worse, but at least they could see where they were going and -

Suddenly, there was nothing under his feet. His heart jumped into his throat, and he could only let out a surprised yelp as he slipped into a ravine almost entirely hidden by the bushes. He scratched his hands raw trying to hold onto the rocks and shrubs, but nothing stopped him as he rolled down to the bottom.

Heart racing and unable to breathe, all he could do at first was to lie on his back. It was pitch black, and the only sound around him was the quiet tumbling of the sand and stones he’d brought loose with him. It quieted down quickly, taking away his fear that he’d be buried alive.

“Hey! Albert! Are you okay?”

Lupin’s voice sounded more distant than it should be. Albert drew a long breath, but it turned into a cough when he inhaled some of the dust floating around him.

“I think so,” he answered and began to pick himself up, feeling around the ground to get some leverage.

“What? I can’t hear you!”

“I said - Ah, fuck!” Albert fell back down as he put weight on his right leg. He hadn’t felt it, but he had to have twisted his ankle as he fell. He fumbled to take off the shoe before his foot got too swollen and tossed it aside, too angry to consider that he’d need it later.

“Lupin! This is all your fault!” he screamed into the heights. He’d taunted him into walking first, and Albert had fallen for it like a complete dumbass.

“I didn’t know there’d be a ravine! Can you get up on your own?”

“Of course I can!”

“Good! Because it looks like I’m gonna be busy for a while! Talk to you later!”

“What? Wait, where are you going? Lupin? Lupin!” Albert jumped back to his feet and strained his neck to see something in the darkness. He could barely make out the slowly brightening sky through the bushes that grew on both sides of the ravine. There was no human silhouette, and Lupin didn’t answer.

Fuck, he left me, Albert thought. He’d been sure Lupin wouldn’t, that it wasn’t in his character. Quickly, he stuffed his hand into his pocket to make sure his gemstone was still there. He felt a little better as he wrapped his fingers around it. At least he still had half of the treasure.

I don’t need him, he decided, annoyed at himself that Lupin making a run for it had been such a disappointment. He’d done just fine on his own countless times. It was embarrassing that his first idea to get out of the situation had been relying on Lupin. He needed to get back on track if he wanted to prove himself worthy of the title.

Maybe that was some long con Lupin was running, making him think they were a good team so that he’d put his guard down and go soft. If so, he’d just revealed all his cards like an amateur. Albert would rub it to his face the next time he saw him.

But for now, he had to get out of the ravine. There was enough sunlight now that he estimated the way up was maybe thirty meters. The slope was steep, at around 120 degrees, but there were enough shrubs growing on it that Albert was sure he could manage.

Except that the ground was loose, and his feet sunk into the sand and pebbles so that he couldn’t get any leverage. His ankle was throbbing and feeling worse by the moment, leaving him unable to put much weight on it. The shrubs weren’t rooted firmly enough to carry his full weight, so when he grabbed some to pull himself higher, they were torn out of the ground and he fell back down, still holding them.

This’d be harder than he’d thought. Perhaps he should start wobbling along the bottom of the ravine to see if there was a better place to climb. The mountains were deserted and no hiking routes passed by the area, so the chances of someone finding him were zero. He had nobody to call, at least anyone who wouldn’t ask questions he didn’t want to answer.

Just as he was about to start moving, the sound of a distant gunshot reached his ears. He froze, a chill going down his back and settling in his stomach. Shit. The guys from the estate had caught up with them. His hand dashed to grab his Luger, and he pressed himself flat against the slope, hoping that the shrubs would hide him from view if someone looked down. Like this, he was a sitting duck.

It was a moment later that he realized that if there were gunshots, it meant they’d spotted Lupin. He didn’t know how to feel about it. In the best case scenario, Lupin lured them away from the area and they’d never come close enough to find him. But if they stayed and decided to search for him, they’d not only find him but be furious because they’d let Lupin slip through their fingers.

Then there was the possibility that they’d get Lupin. The idea of him going down in such a mundane way was all kinds of wrong, but few deaths in their line of work had any glory to them. And someone who took so many risks and laughed in the face of danger was absolutely going to die from the bullet of a lucky mook one day. The world was ironic that way.

Albert kept still and listened. The gunshots were too far away to tell what kind of weapons they were and if Lupin’s was in the mix. But if there were that many shots, there had to be a chase going on. Moment by moment, there were fewer of them until he could hear no more.

The silence was unnerving. For as long as the gunfight had been going on, he’d known for sure that Lupin was alive. There was no telling who’d fired the last shot and whose face might come into view above him. He tried not to make any noise, overly aware of every scraping sound and sigh among the leaves.

He’d wait until it was night again before trying to get out. If there was someone out there, they’d be gone by then, or at least they wouldn’t be able to see him.

Albert wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard a rustling sound above him. He turned to look, and he let out a long breath when he recognized Lupin’s shape.

“Albert? You still there?”

“Where have you been?” Albert asked, hoping to mask his relief under annoyance.

“I told you I had something to do. It took longer than planned. I thought you’d be up by now.”

“Yeah, about that...”

“Oh? Can’t make it on your own after all, hmm? Need a hand?”

He couldn’t see it from this distance, but Albert was sure Lupin grinning at him. Of course he knew he needed help. He wouldn’t have come back otherwise. The jerk just wanted him to admit it.

“It’s just because I sprained my ankle. Is there something you can do?”

“Maaaybe. If you say please, I might throw you a rope.”

“Where’d you get one?”

“The guys who came after us had it in their supplies. I guess they thought that if they could only get one of us, they’d bring him back alive for interrogation.”

“And you… You took care of all of them, right? There’s nobody left?”

“I did it my way.” There was a dismissive tone in Lupin’s voice which made Albert guess he hadn’t shot to kill. He only did so when there was no other way. But here, it seemed like a twisted kind of mercy. Blood loss would likely kill the men before they made it back to civilization, so wouldn’t it just be better to do it properly and make it quick?

“And that’s why we have to hurry,” Lupin went on, “I called an emergency helicopter to pick them up. We need to get out of here before it arrives.”

“You did what? Are you mad?”

“I just don’t think it’s worth it to kill half a dozen guys over two gemstones.”

“We already killed that many on the road last night!”

“No, that’s because they sucked at driving.”

“Ugh. Just throw me the rope.”

The rope was thinner than his pinky finger and cut into his palms, but it provided him with the leverage he needed to get up using only one foot. Lupin had tied the other end around a tree stump and reached over to grab his arms to help him through the last stretch of the way.

“You okay?” he asked.

Albert glared at him and took off his shades to wipe away the sweat that was getting into his eyes. 

“You’re walking first this time,” he said.

“Fine by me. Our backs will be to the enemy, so if one of them drags himself to a gun, you’ll be a nice shield.”

“Can’t you just shut up for five minutes?”

“And let you have the last word? That’s not how this works.”

Albert said nothing to that, wondering if Lupin really couldn’t see the hypocrisy in his words. They weren’t competing over who won an argument like children. There was much more at stake. Didn’t he know they were in the middle of a game with no rules and only one survivor? It didn’t have to end with only one of them still alive, but that’d make it quick and easy.

He’d been worried about that at first, back when this whole thing had started, but he knew now that Lupin would never do it. If he couldn’t kill random goons out for his life, he wouldn’t kill Albert. Hell, it went beyond that. In a tight spot, Lupin would rather let go of the treasure than Albert’s hand. It was foolish loyalty, especially when offered to his rival.

Albert knew he had never done anything to deserve it. Lupin was an idiot who kept turning his back to a man with a knife.

He didn’t make a fuss when Lupin offered to help him walk. There was no time to do anything about his ankle, and they didn’t even have any useful supplies. But as Lupin was about to swing an arm over his back, Albert noticed something he should have thought of immediately after climbing out of the ravine.

“You’re bleeding.”

Lupin glanced down at his arm, just above the elbow. There was blood there, a bright splotch on the white fabric.

“I know. One of them gave me a scrape. But I already fixed it. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah! I took off my socks and tore off a piece of my shirt and wrapped them around it. It’ll do until we have something better.” 

“When did you last change your socks? You’re going to get sepsis or something from that.”

Lupin snorted at him, then resumed what he’d been doing so Albert could lean on him as they walked. It was uncomfortable, but he refused to complain, not wanting to give Lupin the chance to point out that he was whining about a sprained ankle when he had a gunshot wound.

The other side of the mountain was a border zone that wasn’t heavily guarded. Albert had looked into it before the heist and knew there were no patrols or cameras, just warning signs. If they made it to the closest town and managed to steal a car, they’d be fine.

They were already starting to descend, the border in sight, when Albert felt Lupin’s frame give in under him, and they both nearly lost their footing before Lupin got his balance back.

“Are you really sure you’re okay?” Albert asked.

Lupin tried to brush it off with a laugh. “The adrenaline’s worn off. I guess I’m a little shakier on my feet than I thought. It’s not a problem.”

“Let me see.” Albert stopped and shoved Lupin’s arm away. He clicked his tongue in irritation when he saw there was more blood on his jacket now, some even dripping down his arm to stain his hand. 

“I thought you said you fixed this!” he snarled.

“I did! At least, I think I did.”

Albert made Lupin take off his jacket and saw that it was more than a scrape and that his attempt to tend to his wound was rudimentary at best. He’d rolled up his socks and secured them in place with straps of his shirt to apply pressure, but the whole thing was already soaked through and falling apart. No wonder, he’d put it together with just one hand.

Lupin wasn’t dumb. He’d probably felt fine, the thrill of fighting off the enemy making him think he was invincible. Albert grimaced as he imagined him jumping around his usual way, too excited to notice that his body couldn’t hold up.

“We have to keep going. We aren’t safe yet,” Lupin said.

“If you pass out, I won’t be able to drag your ass down the mountain. Sit down. I can do a better job than this. It won’t take long.” Albert reached into a pocket on the inside of his coat and pulled out a small, flat package. It contained suture thread, already swaged to the needle so he wouldn’t have to mess with it.

“That’s pretty resourceful for you,” Lupin said.

“And I’m surprised you don’t have any.” 

“I plan ahead for grand escapes and plan Bs so I never need to bother with the mundane!”

“I have no idea how you aren’t dead already. You need to wisen up or find someone who’s willing to be your full-time nanny. Now be still.”

Albert wiped away what he could of the blood, using Lupin’s sock, and got to work. Lupin’s pain tolerance varied greatly, he’d noticed. Sometimes he whined and whined over the smallest thing, and sometimes soldiered on with injuries that would have made another man faint. He suspected the whining was an act for when he hoped to get something out of it or to make himself look dumb, but with Lupin, there was no knowing what was genuine.

He worked quickly and didn’t bother to make it look nice. The stitches would have to be opened and redone as soon as possible anyway because the wound had to be full of dirt by now, and there’d been nowhere to wash his hands. It’d get infected.

“There. That should at least stop you from bleeding out on me.”

“Aww, I’m happy to hear you care that much,” Lupin said and put his jacket back on, trying to put on a carefree act but not entirely able to hide the stiffness in his movements.

Albert sighed. “We both know I need you to get out of here quickly.”

“Come on, you could make it on your own. A sprained ankle is kiddie stuff.”

“I said quickly!” Albert snapped. “And you’ve got a lot of nerve making snide asides at me when you could have just left me in that ditch. You could have alerted them to where I was and disappeared while they were distracted with me. You had no reason to stick around and get hurt for my sake.”

“You’re forgetting something really important here,” Lupin said.

“And what’s that?”

“Imagine me, at a bar with some cutie I’ve just met. If I want to impress her and make her think I’m a real good guy, the charming adventurer type, could I really tell her a story that makes me look like a total asshole who abandoned his buddy?”

“You could just lie.”

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t feel as good.”

It was those words that made a few things click into place in Albert’s mind. Lupin was fighting for the right to claim the title of the Third and become the next in a line of thieves, but he wanted to do it by his own rules. He was following a code that put moral weight on his actions, not based on the law but whether those actions were ugly. Stealing a few priceless gems from a rich collector was exciting and romantic. Abandoning a partner or killing the goons that were just doing their jobs wasn’t.

He didn’t just want to become the most famous thief in the world. He wanted to make sure that if the whole world was to know of his deeds, they’d listen to his new exploits in wonder and not disgust. He wanted to be a legend, not a nightmare.

Albert harbored no similar aspirations. He was far too pragmatic. If he could get what he wanted by cheating and killing, he would.

He snorted at Lupin’s words. “Trying to dress up a life of crime as something glorious is a delusion. That’s for men who’re afraid to admit that they’re doing something wrong.”

“Sorry, Albert, but you sound like a man who’s still bound by society’s rules. I decide what’s right or wrong in my world.”

Albert didn’t know if that was arrogance or insanity. Maybe a man needed a healthy portion of both to become Lupin III because for a split second, he tried to remember why he was even doing any of this. He didn’t need to be Lupin III to be a great thief.

“I wish you’d just said you came back for this,” he said and took out his gemstone. That at least would have been a reason he could understand.

“Oh, that? That’s just a piece of glass I got out of a vending machine. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

“What?”

Lupin let go of him and walked a few steps backwards, grinning from ear to ear. His hand shot into his pocket and fished out not one but two gems, held between his index, middle and ring fingers.

“I kinda felt like taking all the loot this time since you’ve pulled that trick on me more than once. After I got you out of that ditch, I think I’ve earned it.”

“You can’t do that! That’s not fair!”

Lupin stuck out his tongue. “And how are you going to stop me? You can’t run after me with that ankle!”

With that, Lupin turned around and began to jog down the path. Before he got too far, he called back, “It’s barely a hundred meters to the border. I’ll get a cab to pick you up, so start coming up with a good explanation why you’re entering the country illegally!”

“Asshole! I hope you pass out from blood loss and break your neck!”

“See ya!”

Dumbfounded, all Albert could do was watch Lupin as he ran away. He lifted the gem in his hand up to eye level and glared at it. Damn. It really was fake, and crudely so. Nothing but a toy for children. His cheeks burned because he hadn’t noticed, hadn’t even thought to check. 

He was an idiot. He’d trusted Lupin.

“Tch, it’s not like he’s my partner in crime,” he grumbled and threw the glass gem as far as he could into the bushes.

***

Albert didn’t get any rest for two days. Lupin had gotten him the cab as promised, even paid for it, and though accepting the favor was humiliating, it was also a necessity. He waited until there was nobody else on the road before he told the driver to stop, kicked him out of the car at gunpoint, and drove to the closest town where he ditched the cab, threw together a quick disguise and slipped into the crowd. He watched his back until he was sure nobody was following him and only then allowed himself to check into a cheap motel and try to get some sleep.

He slept like a log for ten hours and only woke up when his stomach told him that he was hungry. He filled himself with a cup of instant noodles that he slurped down while checking the news on TV, then went back to bed when it was clear nothing big had happened while he slept.

Just as he was drifting off, he thought to check his phone. No missed calls. He’d let Gaston know where he was the next time he woke up, he decided.

Except that the next time he woke up, barely an hour later, Gaston was the last person on his mind. It took Albert a moment to understand that he was in bed and that he was fine because what he’d just seen in his dream had left his heart beating just as rapidly as when it had really happened.

He’d fallen off a building with Lupin. This time, there’d been no makeshift parachute to catch them, and they’d just fallen and fallen. Albert had known they’d die, but it hadn’t been a nightmare.

He hadn’t seen Lupin’s face in the dream, but he hadn’t needed to. He could remember that smile of his anyway, and how something like the fear of death didn’t exist in Lupin’s world.

He also remembered how he’d been momentarily taken in and forgotten to be scared, too. 

“Fuck him,” he muttered and rubbed his face, still tired but not willing to go back to sleep. If he was going to have dreams about guys, they could have at least been some who were hot.

Unfortunately, his mind had other plans. For the next few weeks, no matter how busy he tried to keep himself, he found himself thinking back to his most recent experiences with Lupin. He recalled over and over the way their escape from the roof had made his blood sing in his veins and had to admit that he’d do the same thing again but not alone. Only with Lupin. But even more than that, he was occupied by the little nuggets of insight he’d gotten about his rival in the mountains. Lupin wasn’t reckless or stupid but a showman, and part of the act was pretending to be quite a bit of both.

Albert knew he couldn’t have stomached making a fool of himself on purpose. He tried to hide it as well as he could, but there was a part of him that was pitifully self-conscious about what other people thought of him.

The next time he saw Lupin, the other immediately noticed something off about the way he was acting. There were less insults and less fighting over who’d scored more points with his latest loot. Gaston didn’t keep score, but the two of them did, just to have something to bicker over.

“Hey, are you sick or something?” Lupin asked. “Where’s your revenge for last time?”

“I’m a grown-up,” Albert said and tried not to feel annoyed by Lupin’s laughter. But he had a point. He hadn’t even considered bringing up their time in the mountains. He was already spending enough time thinking about it almost every day.

I’m going to figure you out, he thought. Once he understood Lupin even better, the game would be his.

He wasn’t even surprised the first time he woke up with a hard-on and the clear memory of having just kissed Lupin in his dreams. He hadn’t gone out with anyone in months, and the only guy on his mind lately had been Lupin. But he was surprised that it didn’t bother him, not even a little. He felt no shame when he reached between his legs and let his imagination continue where the dream had left off.

Afterwards, there was a sense of melancholy hanging over him. He was all too familiar with hopeless infatuation. He’d fallen for a lot of guys over his life, knowing right from the start that it would never go anywhere and that it was better to keep his mouth shut. His dating pool was already small, and being a criminal made it worse.

He didn’t want to go out with anyone in the business. Break-ups were a nightmare even in the best of circumstances, and he didn’t want to imagine what it’d be like with someone who didn’t care about the law. He might find a bomb in his car one day or something.

Not that Lupin was an option anyway.

Lupin was one of the most insufferably straight guys Albert had ever met. Not in a bad way, which was fairly unusual. He hadn’t gotten weird when Albert had told him he was into guys, and it was the only thing he knew about his private life that he never used to mock him. Albert kind of wished he’d respect his taste in music half as much.

One time Lupin had broken into Albert’s apartment in the middle of the night because he needed a place to stay and lick his wounds after getting into a fight. At some point he’d figured out there was someone spending the night and had decided to help Albert make a good impression. There’d been a nice breakfast waiting when he and his guy had gotten up and a note form Lupin saying it was payment for crashing on his couch for a few hours.

He flirted with every woman they met, and Albert was sure he invited a dozen back with him when he was working solo and didn’t have anyone nagging about no sex in the hideout. Or at least he tried. Albert wasn’t equally sure about his success rate.

He had a feeling Lupin wouldn’t be offended if he found out that the memory of his smile made Albert weak in the knees and that he’d jerked himself off to thoughts of him. He might crack a joke about how irresistible he was, buy him a drink and finally change the subject. Not a bad way to get turned down, but Albert wasn’t planning on ever letting him know.

Lupin might get the wrong idea and go bragging to Gaston that he’d stolen Albert’s heart, and that it should automatically make him the winner of their game. He wasn’t in that deep. This was nothing he couldn’t handle all by himself.

Except that weeks later, he was still thinking about that dumb smile that had looked like Lupin was sure the two of them could conquer the world if they wanted to. He probably smiled like that to everybody, Albert mused dryly as he lay on his bed, but it didn’t help. He was doing his best not to think about all the grand schemes he’d shelved because the risks were too great for one person. It was tempting to take some of them out and show them to Lupin. 

Together, they could pull them off.


	2. Chapter 2

Albert did end up showing one of the plans to Lupin. He tried to make it look like a coincidence by starting an argument that led to both of them boasting about their skills and insulting the other, until Gaston told them nobody was allowed to talk until they finished their drinks and that they had to make up afterwards. Rivals should respect each other more, he was always saying.

The same scene had played out many times in the past, but then it had ended with either Lupin or Albert storming out, unable to tolerate the other’s presence any longer. They had gotten better at that, Albert thought, as he pulled out his blueprints and pushed them over the table to Lupin.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Lupin lifted a brow at him and glanced half-heartedly at the papers. Once he realized what they were, his whole demeanor changed, and he spent the next ten minutes going over every detail in complete silence. Albert got the gut feeling that he was burning all the important parts to memory and could make exact copies later if he so wanted.

Albert hadn’t seen Lupin in almost two weeks. It wasn’t a long time, but after he’d thought about him so much, it was strange to have him there in flesh and blood. He was the same as always, but Albert couldn’t stop looking at him, especially now that Lupin’s attention was elsewhere.

There’s nothing sexy about him, he thought, but it didn’t matter. He’d known right away that it wasn’t Lupin’s looks that he found attractive.

Lupin raised his eyes from the plans and looked at Albert in complete seriousness. “Are you going to do this alone?”

He knows I can’t, Albert thought but didn’t let his annoyance show.

“I’m not dumb,” he said, “or suicidal.”

“Oh? So the great Albert d’Andrésy is coming to me for help? Write this down, Gaston, I think it’s a clear point in my favor.”

“How many times do I have to say I don’t keep score? Besides, after the childish row you two just had, I might want to give the point to the one who first shows any sign of maturity. _If_ I was keeping score.”

“Hmph!”

The plan needed to be prepared carefully, and they spent half a week going over every detail. An integral part of it was becoming intimately familiar with the way the guards moved inside the mansion of their target. As he was a mob boss, it was better to assume the guards were trigger happy, so the slightest mistake could be deadly.

Lupin wanted to infiltrate their ranks, but Albert thought it too risky. If they noticed someone acting off, they’d immediately be on high alert. He didn’t deny that Lupin’s disguises were near perfect, but you needed more than a face to impersonate someone. Body language, little personal details about their lives - nobody could copy it all.

“It’d be the fastest way to know how the guards operate,” Lupin argued, even after they’d already decided to do something else.

“You just want to play dress-up. What if the guy you’re pretending to be is friends with someone else, and they ask you about something they talked about last week? You can’t just take the place of a person who’s important to someone. You’ll be immediately discovered.”

“That challenge is part of the fun. But you know what the most thrilling part is?”

“No, what?”

Lupin leaned closer over the table, a dark gleam in his eyes. “Taking the place of somebody’s loved one. Imagine what power you have when somebody thinks you’re their, I don’t know, brother, or wife. You could destroy so much in just five minutes.”

“You’re nuts,” Albert said. “And once they find out the truth, everything goes back to normal.”

“So? It doesn’t take away the thrill of watching everything burn for a while.”

“Well, this is just a further reason not to let you go undercover as a guard. You’d ruin the whole plan playing god.”

Lupin leaned back with a laugh. “Nah, I’m just kidding. It’s not doing any of it that’s exciting. It’s just the knowledge that you _could._ I wouldn’t mess with anyone like that. But I’d have fun imagining it. Don’t you ever want to be someone else?”

“Not really.”

A mischievous smile appeared on Lupin’s face. “Then what about if you win? That’s the end of Albert d’Andrésy and the dawn of Lupin III.”

“It’ll just be my stage name. I can still be Albert.”

“Can you?”

Of course he could, Albert wanted to say, but the look on Lupin’s face made him unable to get the words out. His features were entirely humorless. It made a chill go down Albert’s back, and for a bizarre second he wondered if they weren’t actually competing over who’d be picked as the new vessel for the ghost of Lupin I.

“You should worry about yourself,” he said. “When I become Lupin III, you’ll have to change your name.”

“Aww, but I’m fond of it. Guess that means I can’t let you win.”

To be fair, Albert had a hard time imagining Lupin going by any other name. At the very start, he’d been annoyed that someone calling himself that was participating in the game, but he’d not objected. It had amused him to think that he’d take the title and leave someone from the bloodline hopelessly beaten.

But maybe there was a catch he hadn’t thought about. If he won and became the next in line, would he ever be able to say the name Lupin III without thinking about this Lupin who was sitting in front of him, his grin now replaced by a concentrated purse of his lips as he tapped a pen against the table?

What name would he have to mutter into his pillow in the middle of the night?

“What’s so funny? Share the joke,” Lupin said.

“You wouldn’t get it.”

And then it wouldn’t be funny anymore. Albert didn’t mind a few self-deprecating thoughts about how he was knees deep in trouble for having the hots for his rival, but that was only for as long as nobody else knew. If someone did, then it’d just be sad.

Lupin gave him an annoyed look but didn’t press any further. He was taking the heist more seriously than Albert had expected. This was the first time they were spending so much time preparing everything together, and it was going well. He was having a good time. Lupin hadn’t said so, but Albert was sure he liked his plan since he’d thrown himself into it.

Still, he had better stay on his toes. He didn’t want the loot taken from under his nose again, especially when he’d done most of the planning.

What they were after was a necklace of rubies and gold. It had an interesting backstory connecting it to the Hungarian Revolution in 1848 that raised its value for collectors, and he was sure they’d find a good buyer. He’d handle that. Lupin loved hearing about treasure and getting his hands on it, but the business side made his eyes glaze over in boredom.

Albert wondered how he was planning to deal with that if he won. A man couldn’t eat gems and metal.

All things considered, the two of them would be a great team if they got along better.

The plan relied on precise timing. Their target threw lavish parties at his estate a few times a month. Those were the only occasions when there was anything going on, so the guards would be spread out and busy keeping an eye on dozens of people. There were no other chances to slip into the master bedroom where the necklace was, and even now, one of them would have to be the distraction.

They’d get in as members of the catering staff. No guns as they’d be checked at the door. Albert would spill a drink on some poor woman’s dress, and Lupin would take her to an upstairs bathroom to “help her get the stain out”. He’d knock her out, slip into the bedroom, break into the safe and grab the loot. It was a lot to do, but he’d insisted he wanted the bigger part and that Albert should just watch his back to make sure their escape route was clear. Attention hog, as always.

There wasn’t a lot of time before someone would get suspicious about the missing guest and waiter, and they had to be gone with necklace by then. It was Albert’s job to be the back-up and make sure every puzzle piece moved at just the right time.

Lupin tossed the pen on the table, stretched his arms in a wide arc and let out a groan. “Time for a smoke break,” he announced. “You coming?”

“Coming where? We can smoke inside.”

“We’ve been stuck in this little room for hours! I want some fresh air!”

Albert didn’t bother pointing out the contradiction of expecting that on a smoke break. He followed Lupin outside and all the way to the little park by the motel. It was two in the morning and dead quiet, so their steps made scratchy sounds that seemed to carry miles away.

Lupin already had a cigarette in his mouth and lit it before collapsing on a park bench, his arms outstretched on the backrest. He sighed in relief at his first puff and then moved to his left so Albert could sit down and not be in his personal space.

It was November and chilly enough that Albert already wanted to go back inside. He finished his cigarette as quickly as he could and stubbed it out with his shoe.

“What’s the rush?” Lupin asked.

“I’m freezing my ass off. The plan’s ready. I want to get to bed.”

“Night is the best time to be awake. And we can actually see the stars tonight,” Lupin said and pointed up. 

The trees had shed their leaves weeks ago, so they had a good view of the sky. The town they were staying in was barely bigger than a village, and the light pollution wasn’t that bad. They could see the stars, sure, but Albert didn’t understand why it was even worth bringing up.

“I’d rather be looking at a hot cup of coffee right now. Give me the key. I’m going back,” he said. He stuffed his hands into his pockets to warm them and left Lupin by himself on the bench.

“You heart’s what’s cold here! I hope that if someone robs and murders me, you’ll feel really guilty!”

It was a relief to be back in their room. He left the door unlocked and crawled into bed. He hated being up at this hour, especially when they’d already run out of anything to drink. Albert buried his face into his pillow and pulled the blanket up to his chin, hoping that he’d feel warm soon.

He dozed off right away but woke up when he heard the door click as Lupin locked it after coming in. It was dark, so Albert didn’t bother shifting to see him. He listened to him toss his jacket over his chair and then sit down. A click, and there was dim light in the room again. Albert squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, he saw Lupin back at the table, hunched over the plans. They’d already checked every detail three times. What more was there to do? At first he felt a flare of irritation at the possibility that Lupin wanted to fix some flaw in his project. Then he reasoned that if there was one, he’d have rubbed it to his face already.

Was he always that detail-oriented and dedicated? All that laughing when things went wrong and changing the plan in mid-movement felt less reckless if so. If Lupin had every little thing covered, he deserved to be a little cocky.

Albert realized that he wanted to get up and join Lupin at the table. He also knew there was nothing he could help him with. He had nothing to contribute at this stage. 

As he drifted back to sleep, he felt a sense of regret at something he couldn’t name.

***

So far, the heist had gone exactly according to plan. Both of them in disguise and serving drinks to the guests, and they’d gotten a good view of the dance hall and kitchen. The guests paid them no mind as long as they kept the alcohol flowing, and the waiting staff thought they were new hires who’d jumped in to replace two of their regulars who’d mysteriously gotten ill at the same time. They knew where each guard was positioned.

Three minutes until the show was on. They’d kept a close eye on the guests and silently communicated to pick the most suitable target. A female guest who’d come to the party alone and was exasperating some of the others with her attempts to flirt. It’d be a long time before anyone missed her, and she might come along without a fuss if she thought she could have a bit of fun with Lupin in the bathroom.

Not even looking at Lupin as he walked, Albert approached the group their intended victim was talking to. He let his feet get caught in each other and stumbled, splashing the contents of three glasses on her dress. The trick was to do it so that nobody else was caught in it because making the other guests angry as well would only hinder their plans.

“Aah! Look what you did!”

“I’m so sorry, M’am. I don’t know what -”

“Do you know how much this is worth? I’m never getting it clean again! I’ll have your job for this!”

Everybody was looking at them, including the host who had a handful of beautiful women hanging onto him. The scene shouldn’t go on for too long, and Albert felt cold sweat trickle down his back at the thought that their target would just decide to take the incompetent wait staff to the back to be shot. You never knew how mob bosses ticked.

Then again, he might be done in by the woman who looked angry enough to punch him.

Lupin waltzed between them, his most charming smile on his face. He gave Albert’s cheek a slap with his fingertips. It didn’t hurt but it showed his complete distaste.

“M’am, I apologize for my colleague’s blunder. He’s new. I promise you he’ll face the consequences.”

“He had better! This dress is -”

“Perfectly salvageable, if we act fast. My grandmother’s household tricks have never failed me. If you’d kindly accompany me to the bathroom upstairs, we can still save the night,” Lupin said, and Albert wanted to gag at the smarm in his voice.

Lupin led the woman away, a hand on her arm to guide her to the direction he wanted. Albert’s job was to make sure the party continued as usual, slip out after eight and a half minutes and get the getaway car ready for Lupin’s escape through the second floor window. If they took much longer, the guards would come across them on their rounds.

The guests had gotten back to socializing, and someone from the catering company hurried over to help him. It was then that Albert noticed one of the women around their target staring at him. Not with pity or cruel amusement like some of the others but with a neutral expression like she was thinking hard about something.

Then, she leaned to whisper something into the host’s ear, and a broad smile appeared on his face. They began to walk across the room together, and the feeling of unease in Albert’s gut got worse with every step. They were heading towards the stairs.

Shit, he thought. They were going to the bedroom. The woman knew what was up. She was leading their target straight to Lupin. The heist was ruined. They’d be lucky to get out alive.

He dropped the tray and the pieces of glass and staggered to his feet.

“I’m getting a mop,” he said. 

He had to get out. He couldn’t take on all the guards alone. No alarm had been raised yet. He could just run out the door, get into their car, and leave. A minute was all he needed.

But what about Lupin?

Screw Lupin! He could use some of that obnoxious confidence of his and waltz his way out of the situation, like usual. Albert would be waiting for him at the hideout. There’d been no agreement that they’d have each other’s back if something went wrong, so he wasn’t even breaking a promise.

But wasn’t that kind of thing assumed when you were working with someone? Albert knew, without the slightest doubt, that Lupin wouldn’t leave him behind.

Before he could make up his mind how guilty he’d feel once in safety, he realized that his legs had already taken the decision off his hands. When he came to a halt, it wasn’t outside but at the small door that led to the servants’ entrance - a fact he knew because he’d memorized every detail in the blueprints of the mansion.

“Shit, might just well,” he muttered as he wrenched the door open and dashed into the tiny corridor behind it, then up the stairs that were barely wide for one person. If he took this route and ran as fast as he could, he just might make it.

If he was too slow, then he’d be the first to face the guards, which would give Lupin time to escape, but he didn’t want to think about that. He wasn’t going to die just so that asshole could run away.

“Lupin, open the door,” he whispered and knocked on the bedroom door, frantically and as quickly as he could.

A second later, the door clicked open and Lupin’s irritated face greeted him.

“Hey, what’s the -”

“Shut up and let me in!”

Albert pushed his way into the room, closed the door and made sure it was locked. As he did so, he babbled the situation to Lupin as best as he could.

“Mazur is coming upstairs with some woman. We have to get out of here!” He had no idea how much time they had, but he’d consider them lucky if it was even half a minute. The target and his woman had to be on the same floor already.

“Holy shit, Albert, calm down! Why didn’t you get the car ready? I would have jumped out the window at the first sign of trouble, and we could have sped out of here!”

Albert opened his mouth, then closed it when he had nothing to say. Crap. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“Never mind! We don’t have the time!” Lupin gave him a shove towards the other end of the room, away from the safe that, thankfully, didn’t look like anyone had tried to open it.

There was a dark, oak wardrobe. Lupin pushed Albert inside and followed, and in their haste they had no time to see whose knee or hand went where as long as they both fit and could close the door. And just in time because only a few second later they heard the click of the bedroom door being unlocked and the steps of two people walking inside.

“Oh, what a wonderful room! Are these sheets real silk?”

“Mulberry. Only the best is good enough.”

“Does that apply to women, too?”

“Of course.”

Albert listened to the mortifying flirting in surprise. Had he been mistaken? Didn’t the woman suspect anything after all? It sounded like all she’d come here to do was get close to the target. Maybe all they had to do to get out of this was to listen to some sex and wait for them to leave.

A creak of the bed, shoes being kicked off and falling to the floor, a female sigh and an appreciative hum from the target - then nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Albert wished it wasn’t dark so that he could have seen Lupin’s face. Was he just as confused? What was going on in the bedroom?

With nothing to listen to and unable to see, all he could focus on was their predicament inside the wardrobe. There was hardly enough space for one man, let alone two, so they were pressed together uncomfortably tight. Albert’s back was against one wall and his knees the one opposite to it. He had to hunch because the wardrobe wasn’t tall enough for him to stand, and the only reason he could keep his balance was that there simply wasn’t any space to fall over.

One of Lupin’s hands was trapped between Albert’s hip and the wall. His knee was pressed between Albert’s legs, and any more force and Albert would have to worry about him crushing something.

”Sorry,” Lupin whispered into his ear. His breath was warm, and Albert gritted his teeth to hold back from telling the idiot to shut up before someone heard him. There was nowhere for him to move, but knowing that didn’t make Albert feel any better. In fact, every attempt from Lupin to squirm away and get more space for himself just threatened to capture Albert’s breath in his throat. Lupin was too close, and he could smell the mix of sweat, cigarette smoke and cologne that was honestly too expensive for a guy like him.

This is hilarious, Albert thought in disbelief, feeling his cheeks burn. He wondered what he’d say if he popped a boner. They could laugh it off, but it was an embarrassment he’d rather go without.

Lupin put a hand on Albert’s chest. “I can feel your heart beating. Are you that scared?”

Albert pressed his palm against Lupin’s lips to keep him quiet. He wasn’t scared. It was a normal reaction to feel agitated when the slightest sound could alert you to the enemy _and_ when you were in the company of a dumbass who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Lupin’s lips felt nice. He wanted so badly to kiss him that it was hard to breathe.

He wondered which would be more humiliating, admitting that being that close to Lupin was turning him on, or playing it off as a fear boner. 

Without a warning, there was something wet on his palm, and he pulled it back with a squeak and knocked his elbow against the wall behind him. Lupin had pushed his tongue out! Albert took a deep breath to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, but then he realized there was no way the noise he’d made hadn’t been heard. Shit, they were going to find them. They were going to shoot them. What a way to die.

Lupin caught him by the arms and brought his frantic thoughts to a halt. Right, he was with Lupin, he realized with a rush of relief. He had to have some ludicrous plan to get them out of this.

_Surprise me again. Please._

As if he could read his thoughts, Lupin kissed him.

It wasn’t just any kiss. It was tongue in the mouth and hot and wet. It made Albert’s knees buckle, and had there been more room, he would have fallen on his ass. In the complete darkness and silence, it filled his whole world, and for a while he didn’t even have it in him to be shocked. It was just too right.

“Wait,” he said when his brain was able to form a coherent thought, which was quite an achievement as a lot of his blood had gone elsewhere, “we can’t do this. They’re going to find us and kill us!”

“That just turns me on even more,” Lupin said, and Albert felt like crying, even as he responded to the next kiss with the same enthusiasm he was given. He was sure the door would be wrenched open any moment now, and they’d be shot and bleed to death while tangled around each other.

But nothing happened. Even the bizarre sound somewhere half-way between a snort and a moan that left him when Lupin began to push his hand inside his pants didn’t cause anyone to open the door.

If someone was there, they would have already discovered them. And come to think of it, he hadn’t heard a peep after the target and his woman had supposedly gotten it on.

“Something’s wrong,” Albert said and pushed the door open. He stumbled a little as he stepped outside, partly because of the time he’d spent in an awkward position and partly because he’d started enjoying himself a little too much.

“Yeah, that you’re walking away from me and leaving me hanging,” Lupin whined. 

What Albert found in the bedroom left his mouth gaping. The target was collapsed against his bed, half-naked and unconscious. The safe was open and - predictably - the necklace was gone.

“She took it! That was why she was in such a hurry to get here! She knew we’d grab it first otherwise!”

“Who?”

“One of the women who was hanging onto his arm all night,” Albert said and gestured at the unconscious man on the bed.

“Which one?”

“The one with auburn hair. What does it matter?”

“Oh, her,” Lupin said breathily like everything in the world suddenly made sense, “man, she was so hot. That was a fun scheme. We did all that planning, and she just waltzed right in, seduced the guy and knocked him out. I’ll try that some time.”

“You’ll have to find a mob boss who likes guys. There aren’t that many around.”

“Nah, I can just crossdress. I’d show you how great I am at it, but I feel like it’d go to waste. But I’m glad to know she’s a colleague! She caught my eye as soon as we walked in. Maybe we’ll run into her again.”

“Tch, hope not,” Albert muttered.

Lupin draped an arm over his shoulder and leaned against him. “Aww, don’t be jealous.”

Albert gave him a calculating look. Now that the rest of the world existed for him again, he remembered something important. 

“I didn’t know you were into guys.”

“I can be into anything you want me to.”

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Albert pushed Lupin’s arm away, something about his muggy voice making his skin crawl.

“Sorry, sorry, just kidding. I never said I’m only into women, you know.”

“Why not?” Albert no longer cared if anyone heard them. Out of everything that Lupin had ever said and done, this was the first thing that did more than sting a little. What reason could he have had to keep it a secret? From him?

Lupin actually looked a little embarrassed. “It just… never came up? It’s not a fifty-fifty thing for me, okay? It’s actually kinda rare that I look at a guy and think I’d do that, but it happens. Sometimes. So, ninety-ten?”

“Then what was that in the wardrobe just now? Where did it come from?”

“Can we talk about this later? Someone’s going to miss that guy soon, and I don’t want to be here when they come looking.”

It was an excuse to buy himself more time. Why, Albert had no idea, and he wasn’t sure he even cared. His mind was clouded by anger at how Lupin hadn’t talked to him, even as he struggled to come up with a reason why he should have. They were rivals. The less they confided in each other, the better.

But maybe that was exactly it. He’d been completely open about himself to Lupin right from the start, and somehow he’d just known that Lupin would never use it against him. Clearly Lupin didn’t have that same trust in him.

Was it any wonder, though? How many times had he grabbed the loot from under his nose or left him to deal with a problem all on his own? Albert played dirty all the time. But did Lupin think he played _that_ dirty?

They climbed out the window and snuck through the garden to where their car was. Lupin wanted to drive. Albert let him, figuring it gave him a chance to fume since he wouldn’t have to look at the road.

It wasn’t even midnight yet, so there were other cars on the road. Whenever their headlights passed them, Albert stole a glance at Lupin’s face, serious and expressionless. If he didn’t choose his words right, he wouldn’t get anything out of him. Maybe it was for the best, at least if they wanted to be able to work together again in the future. If he didn’t ask anything, they could just forget about this.

Except that he had too many questions he needed an answer to. He just didn’t know which one to start with.

“Is this some kind of a joke? Are you making fun of me?”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“You never shut up about women. You see one, you try to pick her up. I’ve never seen you do that with a man. If you were into guys, you’d have already bragged that you scored with some hunk I could never have a chance with. I know you, Lupin. You wouldn’t skip a chance to make me jealous.”

“Wow, you sure think I’m a dick,” Lupin said, sounding irritated.

“Am I wrong?”

“Guess not.”

“So if that wasn’t a joke, then what? Why did you never tell me?”

“There’s plenty of stuff we don’t tell each other. What does it matter?”

“Of course it matters! What were you afraid that I’d do? Don’t you trust me even a little?”

“Oh, please! Let's not act like we're friends! I didn’t keep it from you on purpose, or to hurt your feelings or anything. But since you brought up trust, you didn’t give me many reasons to have any in you in the start. And after a while, I figured it just didn't matter. It's not like I thought I'd ever want to do you or anything.

“You know, if I wanted to play a dirty trick on you, I could have just hired some woman to seduce you as part of my plan. You’d fall for it right away. So I don’t know what you thought you were protecting by not telling me,” Albert said.

“Go ahead and do that. Sounds like fun. But I'm pickier with guys. If I want to get into someone's pants, it means I already like him enough that it'd mess with me if it turned out he was lying the whole time. And you're definitely the kind of an asshole who'd hire someone to date me and then stab me in the back.”

Albert didn't bother denying that, though he wouldn't call himself quite _that_ much of an asshole. He tried to digest all of what Lupin had just said. He'd met guys before who insisted they were completely straight but just liked a bit of fooling around with friends, but he didn't think Lupin was one of those. He sounded like he was serious. In fact, this was probably one of the most serious things he'd ever said to him.

“Then what was that in the wardrobe?”

Lupin laughed, in a kind of awkward way. “I thought you'd be able to take a hint better than this.”

"Sorry, but you're just impossible to understand."

"I told you, didn't I? I like you enough to get into your pants."

Albert snorted. “And you thought that was the time and place? Does danger turn you on?”

“Yeah,” Lupin said, “but it wasn’t that. It’s just that when I had you so close I got overwhelmed by the idea that you’d stormed upstairs to warn me about the woman and the target even though it was probably the dumbest thing you could have done. You surprised me. I thought you’d just save your own ass like usual.”

Albert grimaced but didn’t admit that it had been on his mind.

“So, it was nice to see you cared enough to become a panicked mess just for little old me. I like that in a guy. You made me swoon a little,” Lupin went on.

“Don’t get too excited. I don’t really care that much.”

“I know you do.”

“You’re the one who started the whole thing. Not me,” Albert muttered.

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t have gotten this mad at me if you didn’t care about me at all. And I'll be honest, working with you can be fun. I was going to ask you out for drinks and see where things go after this heist, but things got sped up a little.”

The sound that left Albert’s throat was one of defeat. He didn’t have the energy to fight about that, and he figured that after the disaster in the wardrobe, it was pointless anyway. He’d kissed Lupin back.

He crossed his hands behind his head. The radio in the car was broken, or else this would have been the moment he’d have turned it on. His head felt heavy. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to let his go even further. Yeah, he wanted Lupin. But he hadn’t thought he could have him, so he didn’t know what to do.

“All things considered,” he said tiredly, “this was one of the worst nights of my life.”

“It’s far from over. We can still try to make the best of what we have.”

It was obvious what Lupin meant, even if Albert found it hard to believe after what they’d just been through. He turned the thought over in his head and tried to shut out the warning bells that were telling him to back off. He could say no, and everything would go back to normal. They’d agree that what had happened had been due to fear and thrill.

“You’re insatiable. At least that’s the same as with women,” he said.

“Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing! You got my engine purring, so the least you can -”

“Stop the car.”

“Oh?” Lupin’s disappointment was obvious in his tone. He turned the car to a small country road leading into the woods. “It’s a long way to town. You sure you want to get off here?

“Here’s just fine,” Albert said. He unbuckled his seat belt and waited for the penny to drop. When nothing happened, he couldn’t help but cackle.

“What? I thought you were gonna get off?”

“Yeah.” Albert reached over to press the button to unbuckle Lupin’s seat belt, too. “And so are you.”

There was hilarious confusion on Lupin’s face for the two seconds it took for realization to hit. Then, his features melted into a toothy grin, and he pulled Albert into his lap so that they were just as tightly squeezed together as back in the wardrobe.

“Can’t we do this in the backseat? My elbow is going to hit the horn,” Albert said.

“Go ahead and hit it. If there’s someone around, they’ll hear you soon anyway.”

“That’s bold for someone who says he doesn’t do it with guys often. Do you even know how?”

Lupin hummed in affirmation as he leaned to kiss Albert’s throat, and Albert remembered that it was that obnoxious confidence that had drawn him in in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

“That was fun! Did you see the look on that guard’s face when he realized I’d switched his gun for a fake?”

“No, because I was too busy thinking that he’d shoot you! Why didn’t you tell me? I’m going to have nightmares about that click of the cylinder!”

Lupin laughed into his ear, and Albert wanted to swat him further away. But like so often recently, he endured his overbearing behavior. It was becoming something so mundane that it didn’t even annoy him anymore.

He raised his hand, all fingers decorated with the rings they’d stolen, so that he could admire their loot in the light of the street lamp. They were sitting in a park in the middle of the night, having driven as far away as their car could take them to escape the police after their latest heist. They were out of gas and couldn’t get a room anywhere at this hour, but it was okay. They’d make it through the night somehow.

It was even colder than when they’d last sat in a park together. They still had three cigarettes left, but they’d agreed to save them until later. Albert lowered his hand and started taking the rings off, but he kept his eyes glued to the sky. Unlike last time, there were thick clouds that kept every star hidden.

A shame, he thought. 

“I figured it’d look more convincing if you didn’t know. I wanted him to keep walking closer and thinking he had me. If he’d noticed something -”

“Do you think I’m that bad of an actor?”

“You aren’t bad,” Lupin said and pulled down the collar of Albert’s coat to give him a peck to the neck, “but you’re nowhere near as good as me.”

“I’m better at doing voices,” Albert challenged.

“So? That’s got nothing to do with this!”

After that multi-layered disaster of a heist, things had clicked into place so easily that it was dizzying. They weren’t dating, at least not in the sense that they would have made any promises to each other. But they were becoming something more than before. Albert had assumed the attraction would wear off after they'd slept together once or twice and that they'd either stop, or it'd become nothing more than scratching an itch when they couldn't have anyone else. He would have been content with that as he didn't get to date much. 

For someone who claimed he didn't often do it with guys, Lupin was pretty good at it. But more than that, Albert was drawn to the fact that he didn't have to lie to him. To the other guys, he either didn’t tell anything if he was sure he wasn’t going to stick around, or he had to come up with some excuse why he'd be gone and unreachable for weeks at a time. Nobody tolerated that for long. But Lupin was just like him. Even if they weren't dating, this was still the most stable relationship Albert had ever had. He could get used to the feeling that there was someone out there waiting to see him again.

He suspected Lupin was seeing women on his solo adventures, but he wasn’t talking about them as much as he used to. The thought of Lupin with someone else didn’t bother him as much as he’d expected. It was an occasional ache, but he forgot about it as soon as he ran into him again and they spent a night bickering, bragging and having sex. The longer the arrangement went on, the longer they stayed with each other when there was no good reason to. Jobs that were supposed to be contests often turned into teamwork.

“So, what are you planning next?” Lupin asked.

“I got a great tip from Alain.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Like I’d tell you! That job is mine!”

“Are you that afraid that I’ll grab the loot from under your nose? Guess playing fair is only for those with real skill,” Lupin said and poked him in the side. He slipped a hand into Albert’s pocket and took one of the rings that was part of his share, then displayed it in front of his face like a prize.

Albert snatched the ring back. “Playing fair was never part of this game. We both know that.”

“Fine, be like that,” Lupin said with a pout, “but I was actually gonna ask if you’d come to Dublin with me. But if you don’t have time… maybe I’ll ask someone else!”

“Dublin? What’s there?”

“I’ll tell you if you come with me!”

Lupin’s stupid grin promised him another adventure that’d take at least a year off his life. The job from Alain would be simple and safe and guaranteed to have treasure waiting for him. It was obvious what choice he should make.

And yet, he was already thinking up excuses. What if Lupin knew about an even bigger treasure in Dublin? What if it was something so big he couldn’t get it alone but was too proud to admit it? What if he tried it alone anyway and got into trouble?

The real reason was, of course, that he wanted to go with Lupin. Even if he was insufferable and a magnet for danger, it was only with him that Albert had fun being a thief. When he did it alone, it was a job like any other. He took carefully calculated risks when he was by himself. But Lupin could convince him to jump head first from the tower of an old castle because when he was with him, it was as if he was immortal.

“What’s in it for me?” he asked.

“Treasure, running on rooftops and humiliating a real dick of a collector aren’t enough?”

“That’s all in the future. I’m looking for some kind of advance payment.”

“Then how about I throw myself in the pot?”

“How’s that worth anything?” Albert asked and smirked at Lupin’s put off frown before leaning in to kiss it away. “I already have you, don’t I?”

“Hm, good point. Then how about I buy you breakfast as soon as some place opens?”

“Deal.”

***

One time, after they’d looted a museum, shared the treasure and celebrated, Lupin looked at him and said, “I have another job lined up. Want to tag along?”

Again? It was getting ridiculous. But Albert said yes, even without asking what it was, and his body felt light when he went to bed because he knew he wouldn’t have to get up and leave in the morning. Little did he know he’d just agreed to something that’d haunt his nights for years to come.

Gaia’s Navel was a legendary diamond, perhaps the most valuable on the African continent. There were bigger and more beautiful ones elsewhere, but that was because they’d already been stolen during colonial times. Albert couldn’t help but wryly remark to Lupin that they were continuing the proud tradition of Europeans marching in and taking whatever they wanted, but Lupin didn’t seem bothered.

“I’m only half European. Besides, we’re being honest about what we’re doing. We’re stealing it, not claiming we have a right to it.”

“And what spin will you give this story when you’re telling it to some chick at a bar? How will you make this romantic?”

Lupin gave him an annoyed glance from the corner of his eye. “My, I didn’t realize you’d become so socially conscious all of a sudden. If it makes you feel any better, President Nwadike has been providing weapons to the rebels in the neighboring country to throw their economy into chaos. And he took the diamond from its rightful owners first, so it’s not like he’s an innocent victim here.”

“Typical you,” Albert muttered through clenched teeth. He didn’t care one bit who they were robbing, and he felt no guilt, colonial or otherwise, weighing on his shoulders at the thought of taking the diamond. But this kind of job was uglier than Lupin’s usual heists. Of course there was some catch that made the whole thing seem justified in his eyes.

“There had better not be some local princess who’s both the rightful owner of the diamond and the leader of the country,” he went on, “because once we get that diamond, I’m not handing it over to anyone without getting anything in return.”

“When has that ever happened?” Lupin asked in an annoyed tone.

“Just thinking about your chick at a bar scenario. I’m here for the diamond. Nothing else.”

“Oh? Not even a bit of fun at the inn when we celebrate our success?”

“It’s too hot to even think about it. I just want this over and done with.”

“Maybe you should have worn something else,” Lupin said with a click of his tongue and pointed at Albert’s coat. Albert was getting tired of that joke. Sure, his coat looked like it was stuffy and didn’t breathe, but that was a deliberate element of his aesthetic. In reality, it was the most flexible piece of clothing he owned. Lupin stood out just as much with the ridiculous jacket he always had on. Albert hoped he’d develop a subtler taste as he got older.

They were driving a piece of junk of a jeep that they’d bought in the neighboring country. They’d paid a small fortune for it, which had given the heist a sour start. Albert had wanted to haggle, but Lupin had accepted the price almost right away, like he was in a hurry. It was annoying, both because Lupin had walked all over him and because Albert hated doing something in a rush.

He kept quiet and stared at the dull scenery outside, all light browns and dust and gnarled trees. The heist hadn’t even started, and he was already having a terrible time. He couldn’t remember when he’d last been in such a bad mood. The irritation that was making him want to lash out felt like a huge drop after the thrill of constant successes they’d been through recently.

Sure, Lupin always pissed him off one way or another. But it was a long time since he’d been this agitated for no reason. He could tell his frustration was unfounded, but he couldn’t understand what was causing it.

“When this is over, I’m going to do my next job alone,” he said.

“What, you’re ditching me over a stupid fight? Real mature.”

“How can I ditch you when we aren’t even together?”

Lupin didn’t answer, and Albert didn’t bother looking at him to guess what he was thinking. He hadn’t meant his words only in a romantic sense. They also weren’t a team. How could they be when they were supposed to compete and find out which one of them was the better thief? With the way things were right now, they’d be wrinkly and gray and trying to steal each other’s dentures with still no clear winner.

It didn’t seem like Lupin was bothered. He kept inviting him on jobs like it was the most natural thing in the world. Albert had gone along, both to spend more time with him and because Lupin’s jobs always had an edge to them that his didn’t. Lupin’s plans left room for the unexpected and made Albert’s heart beat in a rhythm he wasn’t used to.

Was he turning into an adrenaline junkie? He had to get away from Lupin for a while and get his bearings. When he was with him, it was hard to think and remember what _he_ wanted from his life as a thief and future Third.

They rented a room in a town about an hour’s drive away from the capital. Neither of them had contacts in the country and there wasn’t much information on sale, but Lupin had managed to get a copy of the palace floor plan. He blabbed about it and the best place to enter as he spread it on the table. Albert took one look at it and decided to break his silence.

“That’s at least twenty years old.”

“I know, but it’s all we’ve got.”

“What if they’ve done renovations?”

“Then we’ll wing it.”

“That sounds too risky.”

“And you sound like a coward.”

Albert made a face but let it go, even if the bad feeling in his stomach had just grown heavier. He didn’t sleep well that night, even though it was no longer so stifling. He listened to Lupin’s snoring and once sure that he wasn’t pretending to be asleep, went to pull his leg from under his blanket to give the mosquitos in the room an easier meal than him.

Lupin hadn’t done anything wrong. Albert didn’t want to be mad at him. But his way of dealing with frustration was to lash out at whoever was there. It was another reason he had to get away for a while. Even though everything Lupin did or said pissed him off right now, he knew in his gut Lupin wasn’t the reason for his terrible mood. There was something else, and he didn’t want to burn his bridges with Lupin before he’d figured out what it was.

Then again, the make-up sex just might make it worth it. Lupin was the kind of guy who hated losing something. For as long as he wasn’t the one to leave first, he’d always take Albert back.

The next morning, they woke up to a thundering blast and the building shaking. There weren’t earthquakes in this part of the world, was Albert’s thought as he struggled to get up from bed and stay on his feet. Mortar rained from the ceiling and made him worry the whole building would collapse and bury them alive.

“What the hell’s going on?” he asked, but Lupin looked just as baffled.

“How should I know?”

They ran downstairs, but the owner of the building stopped them and told them it was better they stayed inside. Foreigners wouldn’t be treated kindly now that the fighting had started, he said. Anyone hiding them would meet the same fate, so he wanted them gone by midnight or he’d have to turn them in to protect his family.

That was it, then. So much for the diamond. Albert couldn’t help but feel a nauseating sense of relief at the realization that the job had to be buried. Getting out of the country with just their lives would be hard enough, but with the national treasure in their hands? It’d be a suicide.

They spent the day holed up in their room, watching tanks and soldiers move through the town and towards the capital. It was a full-out civil war, their host said, something that the people had talked about in hushed voices but nobody had actually believed would happen.

“I guess the president finally croaked,” Lupin mused.

“And someone in the palace leaked it to the rebels.” Albert had read up on the country and its politics to get a better idea of what they were getting into. President Nwadike had played a large role in liberating the country from under foreign rule and was considered a hero, even if many in the country were dissatisfied with how it was being run. It made sense that the rebels would strike as soon as the president was dead.

He sighed in annoyance as he looked out the window and saw another tank go by. It was just their luck. If the damn civil war could have started just two days later, they’d have gotten the diamond and been out of the country in time. Now, they had no choice but to run away empty-handed.

Except that Lupin still wanted to do the job. It’d be exciting, and wouldn’t Albert feel disgraced if he let someone else take the prize he’d set his eyes on? Was he even cut out to be a thief if not?

He knew Lupin’s words were meant as a joke. He was just teasing him like usual, trying to get him mad enough that his temper would trample all over his common sense and make him agree. And hell, he was mad, just not the way Lupin had wanted.

This wasn’t the fun kind of danger that made his blood feel like lava in his veins. This was terrifying and real. They were dealing with something too big for them. How could Lupin even suggest they just keep going?

“I don’t have a death wish! You go and get yourself killed, but count me out!”

The smile on Lupin’s face wavered only a little. “Come on, don’t be like that. We already planned everything. The army will be busy with the rebels, so maybe this will work out in our favor!”

“I said, you can go alone!” 

“Are you kidding me? You’re really throwing in the towel?”

“Of course I am! I’m a damn good thief, and I know when the most valuable thing on the table is my own life.”

“Pfft, where’s your thirst for adventure? Lupin I would roll in his grave if he knew someone like you is on the running to be the Third.”

At least it wouldn’t be me in a grave, Albert thought. He didn’t really give a damn about what the previous Lupins would have thought. They were dead, and he didn’t want to have his path in life determined by people he’d never even met. Even if he became Lupin the Third, he wouldn’t sacrifice himself on the altar of that legacy.

“Nobody will remember us if we die here. We’ll be thrown into a nameless grave,” he said.

“You can’t be a great thief if you always play it safe.”

“Says who? You’re not the one who makes the rules here! A great thief is one who brings in results. You need to know when it’s time to bow out and pick another target.”

Lupin snorted and turned to look out the window. Albert got the feeling he wasn’t angry but disappointed. Something about that wormed under his skin in a way he hadn’t expected and made him feel like he’d failed at something, even if every part of his brain was screaming at him that he was right.

“You can do this job alone,” he said again, more to convince himself than Lupin.

They sulked through the day, refusing to exchange more than a few strained words when they had to and not looking at each other. As soon as night fell, their host told them to leave and not get him in trouble. He asked them not to start their car until they were out of town or someone would get suspicious, so they had no choice put to push the damn thing on the sandy road.

Sweat was pouring down Albert’s face when they were far enough, and he collapsed against the car to catch his breath. No lights were on in the town they’d left, so they were covered in complete darkness. He could hear Lupin breathing by his side, but he couldn’t see more than his shape, even with the millions of stars above them that made the sky seem endless. It was bizarre to think that the country was about to tear itself apart.

“You can take the car,” Lupin said.

When they’d left town, Albert had noticed the road they’d picked was one that led to the opposite direction from the capital. He hadn’t said anything, hoping that Lupin wasn’t paying attention. He’d assumed Lupin wanted the car to get to the palace, but he realized he’d meant to let him have it from the start.

“You don’t have to do this job. There’s nothing you have to prove to anyone,” he said. He didn’t care if he sounded like he was pleading.

“I’m not doing it to prove anything, silly. I’m doing it because this is fun! See ya in Paris!”

There was no other goodbye, just Lupin’s footsteps in the dark as he took off back towards the town. Albert wanted to call out after him, ask him one more time to come back to France with him, but the words were trapped in his throat. He knew Lupin wouldn’t, even if he begged him and said he was worried he’d never see him again. Lupin would always choose an adventure over anything else. Maybe there was nobody in the world he’d ever love enough to stay home for them.

What had first attracted him to Lupin was his fearless joy in the face of danger, but now it was something that made Albert’s legs shake as he walked around the car and got onto the driver’s seat.

***

Albert was in Cairo when news about Lupin reached him. He’d done it. He’d broken into the palace, grabbed the diamond before the army could get it, and had made a daring escape that defied all odds. And somehow, the civil war had ended just as quickly as it had started. Whether that was a coincidence or somehow connected to Lupin, Albert didn’t even want to guess. Maybe there really was a princess who’d only needed the diamond to reclaim her country.

The drink in his hand had lost all flavor. It was a relief to know the dumbass was alive, but he dreaded their next meeting. Lupin would rub it to his face that he’d been right, that he’d pulled off something Albert had been too afraid to even try. For the first time since their competition had started, Albert felt like Lupin had the right to call himself the better thief. He didn’t know what feat he could manage to get the cards in his favor again.

He also realized something else. If he’d stayed with Lupin, he might have just been a burden to him. That sort of adventure with so many moving pieces and no way to predict what could happen wasn’t his style. He needed order and the comfort of the knowledge that if he just planned well enough, everything would click into place. Chaos unnerved him.

But what was a thief’s life but chaos? 

These thoughts kept him awake all night. He crawled out of bed before dawn and gathered his things. He’d meant to stay in Cairo for a while, grab something valuable to make up for all the lost time, but it felt pointless now.

He ended up going to Paris to see Gaston. He and Lupin had that in common, he’d been told. Whenever they were in trouble, they ran to the old forger like lost puppies.

“I haven’t heard from you in a while. I was starting to think something had happened,” Gaston said and pushed a mug of cheap instant coffee over the table to him. The mere sight was offensive, but it was exactly what Albert wanted to drink right now.

Something had happened, sure. But he didn’t think he could ever admit to their mentor that he’d started sleeping with his rival.

“There haven’t been any interesting jobs lately,” he said.

“Oh? I get regular reports from Lupin. The way he grabbed Gaia’s Navel is his greatest accomplishment yet!”

Albert took a sip of his coffee, still a little too hot, and grimaced at the burn. “Did he… did he say anything about me?”

Gaston gave him a confused look. “Have you two been fighting again? I swear, if you’d just focus on your work, we’d already have a winner.”

That was a no, then. Albert was a little surprised. The Lupin he knew would have delighted in telling Gaston in great detail that he’d run away from a job. That’d be a huge point in Lupin’s favor.

“It’s not that,” he said.

“Then what? Are you unhappy about something?”

That wasn’t it, either. Being with Lupin made him the happiest he had been in a long time. Lupin gave him a feeling of security and belonging somewhere in a life that had always taken him from one place to another before anything could start to feel like home. He could do anything when he was with him. But increasingly, those were things Lupin wanted to do. Albert just went along with him.

“You never really explained what determines the winner of this game. You just said the better thief becomes Lupin III. But what counts? Are we on a time limit?”

“That’s what you’re worried about? Just because you haven’t been active for a while -”

“That’s not it! I just want to know! What’s even the point of this if we don’t know what we have to do? Am I going to have to waste my whole life chasing treasures around the world and not even know if I’m doing the right thing?”

Gaston sighed. “I guess I should have known you’d be the one to ask that question.”

“What do you mean?” Albert asked. He didn’t like the finality in Gaston’s voice.

“Lupin doesn’t care about any of that. He loves what he’s doing. He complains about you whenever he’s here, but I can tell he enjoys the challenge you give him.”

Gaston didn’t have to spell it out for him. If there were other qualifications rather than just success, Lupin had already won. He had the attitude and outlook that an international master thief needed. He didn’t see it just as a job. To him, it was a way of life that he loved and that made him thrive.

Albert was a good thief. He knew he could be near the top. But he lacked that spark that made Lupin special. He’d had a head start because of his crooked way of thinking that had made it easy to pull the rug from under Lupin’s feet, but if they butted heads now, there was no doubt who was going to go down. Lupin had overtaken him.

Even worse than that was the knowledge that he didn’t want to challenge Lupin anymore. The idea of beating him no longer brought him any joy.

“Why haven’t you already made the decision? Why is this game still going on?” he asked, struggling to contain his anger and humiliation. Why was he being yanked on a string and allowed to think he was working towards something meaningful when all he had to look forward to was second place?

“Regardless of who wins, I think this experience has been good for you both. You’re still young. Neither of you is ready to inherit the legacy yet. When one does, the other has acquired new skills and confidence as well. It’s not a waste.”

“Fuck that!” Albert snarled. It took all his effort not to hurl his coffee mug across the room. “Don’t talk like I still have a chance! I’m done with this!”

“You’re going to drop out?”

The question made Albert pause. He could, but what then? Admitting defeat was bad enough, but could he live his life as a thief after that, knowing he hadn’t had what it took to be the best? He’d have to watch Lupin climb higher and higher.

“I… don’t know.”

“If you don’t mind me saying it, I was never sure if being the Third was the best thing for you. Would you really enjoy having the whole world watching you? You work better in the shadows. That’s a strength, too.”

“Then why did you let me try?”

“I told you. It’s a valuable experience. I’m sure you’ll find a good use for what you’ve learned.”

Albert stared at his coffee, thinking that its dark color suited his mood perfectly. He felt used, like he’d been included in the game only so that Lupin had someone to work against, so that _he’d_ hone skills to perfection and not get the title by default just because of his bloodline. Nobody would care about Albert once the winner was declared.

Except Lupin. He’d just assume they could keep on going like until now even after he got the title. And why not? Albert felt a weight in his stomach as he realized that the game had already ended. He hadn’t been a proper rival to Lupin for a long time now.

He was becoming his partner.

***

Lupin showed up in Paris four days later. He found Albert leaning on the side of the bridge at Pont Neuf and watching the Seine below them. It was where they’d been introduced, and somehow they always ended up coming back, like it was fate.

“What did you do with the diamond?” Albert asked.

“Oh, that? I don’t have it anymore. Turns out there was someone who needed it more than me.”

“I knew it.” Albert spat the words out like they burned his tongue. He butted out his cigarette on the side of the bridge. He felt vindicated. Leaving Lupin alone had been the right decision. If he’d stayed, he’d have risked his life just so the idiot could hand over the diamond to someone like he was running a charity organization.

“Hey, aren’t you even going to congratulate me? That was a real good heist!”

“What’s so good about it if you came back empty-handed?”

Lupin stretched his arms above his head and let out a satisfied sound as he came to stand by Albert’s side. “I got to test my skills like never before. There was a moment when I had a dozen machine guns pointed at me and thought I was a goner, but I pulled through anyway. There’s no better feeling in the world. You should have been there.”

This was what Albert had fallen in love with? Was he crazy? Was this his future if he stayed with Lupin?

Lupin gave him a funny look.

“What’s bugging you?”

“Don’t bother me. I’m in a bad mood.”

“Yeah, but why? Are you mad I got the job done without you? The next one -”

“Not everything is about you! I have a life of my own, okay?”

Albert was sure that Lupin didn’t know what was up. For all his brilliance, he could be so dense in his private life. It was one reason why it was impossible for him to hate him, even though Albert really wished could right now.

“Sorry,” he said, “I don’t think I’m going to do any jobs with you for a while.”

“What? How come? I have so many good ideas!”

“Yeah. You.”

“Am I not good enough?”

“That’s not it, you dumbass!”

Lupin slipped an arm around his waist and leaned close. “I wish you’d come with me for the diamond. It would have been more fun with you.”

I’m not your partner, Albert wanted to argue, but he couldn’t resist responding to Lupin’s touch. He’d been worried about him. As annoyed as he was, it was a relief to have him back, even if he simultaneously wanted him gone again.

When they had sex that night, Lupin looked at him with such adoration that it twisted Albert’s guts. The fool loved him. He was the one who’d said he wanted to be free, and then he looked at him like _that._ Like there was nobody else in the world for him, even though Albert knew there was. Lupin had that effect on people. Albert wondered if all the others felt the same when they were with him. Was there someone holding Gaia’s Navel in their hand and hoping that the thief who’d left it behind would one day come back?

This was a man who didn’t yet understand his own charisma. People were drawn to him, and he went along with the flow. But Albert could see into the future and where they’d be if someone didn’t put a stop to it. Lupin didn’t know that in time, he’d make Albert miserable just by being himself. To be with Lupin meant being willing to follow.

When he imagined Lupin’s future as the Third, he saw no meaningful place for himself in it. Every skill he had was something Lupin could do, usually better. He didn’t need him. And Albert didn’t want to follow him around and be remembered as “the other one” who was always by Lupin’s side but had no legacy of his own. Even if he was the second best thief in the world, that meant nothing when people compared him to the best.

Lupin’s arms around him felt like chains but ones that he was sure he could get used to. That was what worried him the most. He had already stopped putting his best effort into their competition and was happy to do almost any job Lupin suggested. In time, he’d stop caring about what people thought about him. It wouldn’t matter that he wasn’t the best. He’d be content as Lupin’s partner. Lupin could make him happy, as long as he didn’t stop in the middle of some hair-raising heist and remember that he’d had goals of his own once.

If he wanted to carve his own path in life, he’d have to get away from Lupin. Putting an end to their relationship wasn’t enough. He could never see him again. He had to find something to pursue that was of no interest to Lupin. Something he couldn’t do better, something he couldn’t take away from him.

There was the ghost of an idea, an ambitious thought that had crossed his mind when he’d imagined what he’d do with all the money he’d steal and save up over the years. Perhaps there was another way to reach that, and maybe he wouldn’t have to wait until he was retired and going gray.

To get there, the first step was breaking Lupin’s heart into so many pieces that he wouldn’t come after him. He had to loathe him so much he’d never take him back even if Albert changed his mind and begged. There was some comfort in that idea, like he’d gotten a little bit of control over his own life back.

Too bad, Lupin, he thought as he glanced at his sleeping face. Hopefully the next guy he took to bed wouldn’t be such a self-serving traitor.

He was about to push Lupin’s arm away from across his chest because it was starting to get hot and sticky, then hesitated and let it stay. He didn’t know when it’d be time to push Lupin away for good, but he was sure he’d miss nights like these.


End file.
